Fun, food and festivities at Birr Vintage Week

Midlands' annual summer fixture, the Birr Vintage Week and Arts Festival, returns for its 58th edition. Beginning July 31, the community arts festival will culminate on August 8, spanning nine days.

Known to be the oldest community event of its kind, the festival weaves together an eventful line up. This year, many crowd favourite activities and events are slated to return, while new ones also make a debut. The nine days are studded, among other things, with markets, busking, exhibitions and theatre performances, the ever-popular Duck Race, and the introduction of Vintage and Classic Vehicle Display in Crinkle.

Day one begins with the launch of the Visual Arts Trail, Vintage Week Crafty Friday, a breakfast art talk, yoga, dancing at the Cottages, and an evening performance by Luke Thomas & The Swing Cats.

Day two (Saturday) fulfils one's gastronomical desires with a food and craft market running throught the day at Green Street. Making up the ambience will be emerging and seasoned street performers bringing their talent to the Mick Egan busking competition.

John's Hall turns venue for a sensorial journey capturing the scent and spirit of the Irish bog, with a performance by Luke Casserly. Titled, Distillation, it is a multi-sensory performance featuring text, perfume, video and sculpture. Saturday also brings the family fun day organised by the Birr Rugby Club, with Tag tournaments for children and adults, apart from other games. The evening presents a much anticipated staging of Republic of Silence at the Birr Theatre and Arts Centre.

A highlight of this year's line-up is the Bikes and Barrows parade, part of the centrepiece Vintage parade, to be held on Sunday, August 2. The organisers have invited the public to take part in the fun parade on decked up bikes or wheelbarrows. There are cash prizes for most creative entries.

Post the parade one can enjoy a line up of performers and entertainment as part of the Big Birr Street Fest, like the vintage costume competition. A major highlight of the street fest is the aerial show called Now and Then, an aerial acrobatics performance by a young Pookie (Lidija Šola), and veteran Nancy (Noelle Ní Riagáin).

The weekdays carry on with the music, theatre, and arts, events and activities like Hibernian Antiques Fair (Monday-Tuesday) at County Arms Hotel, Birr Garden Trail, Drag Queen Bingo (Tuesday), Slack Rope Workshop and Swim Gala (both on Wednesday). As in the past, the Birr Rugby Club, will host Firework Night this year as well, only with extra games, entertainment and fireworks, on Thursday, August 6.

For the lovers of antiquities a vintage items sale is slated for the last two days of the fest (Friday and Saturday) at Admonan Lodge. The festival takes a bow on Saturday, August 8, with the Birr Festival of Hurling, immersive wellness experiences, the Vintage Sale & Wellbeing Vibes event and a final day of community celebrations.